The Fitzrovia Radio Hour are a group of British comedy writer/performers, formed in 2008 and consisting of Jon Edgley Bond, Alix Dunmore, Alex Ratcliffe, Phil Mulryne, Tom Mallaburn and Martin Pengelly. Concept The Fitzrovia Radio Hour conceive, write and perform theatrical radio plays in the 1940s style. The plays are performed in evening dress, behind period microphones and with sound effects produced live. An hour-long show usually contains three stories – typically in genres such as horror, adventure, science fiction and romance – interspersed with advertisements for products such as whisky, cigarettes and stout. Popular characters include Leinigen, a fearless explorer; Squadron Leader Edward Templar, an intrepid RAF pilot; Professor Quested, an investigator of the unusual; and Frank Maskill, a Leeds lathe worker who should have known his place. History The Fitzrovia Radio Hour formed in January 2008. The founding members were Jon Edgley Bond, Alix Dunmore, Alex Ratcliffe and Callum Coates. Phil Mulryne and Tom Mallaburn also appeared in the first series of shows. The Fitzrovia Radio Hour has featured a number of guest actors, including Fiona Sheehan, Laura Carmichael, Esther Biddle, Nick Atkinson, Asa Joel, Chris Gilling, David Oakes and Dan Starkey. Shows Series 1-3 The first six performances took place at Bourne & Hollingsworth, a cellar bar located in the Fitzrovia area of central London. For these shows original broadcast scripts from the 1940s were sourced and edited. Guest directors included Phoebe Barran and Miles Gregory. A dedicated sound man was often employed for the production of sound effects. In October 2008 the Fitzrovia Radio Hour performed their first show at the Swan, the bar and brasserie at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. It featured ‘Rex Boothroyd: For King & Country’, a spy story by Tom Mallaburn and Martin Pengelly, who subsequently joined the group, and Phil Mulryne’s adaptation of ‘The Suicide Club’ by Robert Louis Stevenson. Top Shelf Jazz provided post-show music. The show remained at the Swan for six free monthly performances. In May 2009 the Fitzrovia Radio Hour performed their first show at the UnderGlobe, the 400-capacity space under Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. The show, entitled ‘Tales of Speed & Time’ featured ‘The Man Who Was Ten Minutes Late’ by Tom Mallaburn and Martin Pengelly, ‘The Queen of Nimruth’ by Phil Mulryne and a four-minute adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's ‘Sherlock Holmes & the Adventure of the Norwood Builder’ written by Alex Ratcliffe. Post-show music was supplied